XC Racer Blog Post

Chain Reaction Round 2

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BY: phil Morris

Published: 30th May, 2011


CRC Landovery Marathon

Round 2 of the Chain Reaction Cycles marathon was held at a new venue, Llandovery. As there were no races on this weekend I decided to do the event as it wasn't too far from my house and I was keen to ride some new trails!

The weather leading up to the event had been pretty wet and the forecast wasn't very inspiring! So muddy it was!!

I arrived about 9 and got myself signed on and sorted for the half ten start.

There were a few of the regular marathon riders taking part, but there were also some of the regular faces missing, including Nick Craig and Matt Page who were up in Dalby.

After setting off on time and the pace was fairly friendly initially. It wasn't long and we got to the first climb of the day. This was one seriously tough climb, requiring granny ring!! This spread everyone out very quickly. Leading the pack was Jonny Pugh followed by myself.

At the first feed station Jon stopped and I got back to him. After riding for a bit, we ended back at the feed station (seems the wind had turned the sign!!) We headed back meeting other riders all the time. By the time we got back to the sign there was a group of about 8 of us. The next couple of miles were a bit tricky as some of the signs had gone astray!! Not sure if this was down to Mother Nature of someone playing silly buggers!

So the pace was fairly steady now, as nobody wanted to go miles off track!

We soon came to the Crychan forest and some more serious climbing! Jon was setting the pace with me sitting in his wheel. We gained a gap and next up was a really tricky, decent which demanded full concentration!

This was followed by another very tough long climb and at the top Jon had got away!!

This section was probably the most enjoyable and frustrating part of the ride. The trails were so slippery it was a mere challenge just to stay upright, but this added to the fun!

The next 10-15 k was more of the same slippery trails! On reaching the final feed station I had lost sight of Jon. With only 10k left to go, I knew the end was in sight. I pushed on and finished in 2nd place about 4-5 minutes back on Jon.

Once again a really enjoyable event which certainly tested my bike handling skills and fitness, both which have got plenty of room for improvement!!

Well done to John Lloyd and team for another cracking, tough course!!

The only thing missing this day was my supporting crew, who opted to go swimming in stead of braving the weather!!

Finally thanks to my sponsors

XCracer.com
Accelerade
MTZoom
Gateway Cycles
Exposure





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phil
 

phil Morris

Fireman, dad, racer and team stalwart...

www.xcracer.com

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